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Bones (and flesh) never lie … or do they?
May 20, 2016 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Friday 20 May, 6 for 6.30pm
To celebrate the 10th Annual Law Week, Sisters in Crime Australia has joined forces with the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre, Victoria University to present a panel of specialists who will debate forensic evidence: what really happens during an investigation, and how the advent of the ‘CSI effect’ has changed how crime is investigated, prosecuted and portrayed in popular culture.
Former Assistant Commissioner of Victoria Police Sandra Nicholson will explore these issues with forensic pathologist forensic anthropologist Soren Blau, Yeliena Baber, and forensic dentist Lyndall Smythe.
Dr Soren Blau is Senior Forensic Anthropologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. She undertakes disaster victim identification and provides expert evidence in the magistrates’ and supreme courts. Blau has participated in the recovery and analysis of human remains in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East and the United Kingdom. She has worked for the International Criminal Court and delivered training to forensic practitioners in Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Blau co-edited Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology (2009), which is currently being revised for a second edition. She enjoys television crime series such Silent Witness, Wire in the Blood and The Bridge.
Dr Yeliena Baber initially pursued a career in surgery, but decided to retrain in pathology in 2004. She is a now Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (London) and of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia by examination. She is currently employed as an adjunct lecturer at Monash University and a forensic pathologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine with a special interest in paediatric cases. Baber is a fan of the Sherlock Holmes novels and finds CSI and Law and Order quite entertaining. She loves Elementary, but Basil Rathbone remains her favourite Holmes of all time. She believes both True Detective series are ’awesome
Dr Lyndall Smythe is a forensic odontologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and part-time clinical educator at the University of Melbourne School of Dentistry. She is currently studying a Masters in Forensic Medicine at Monash University. She has worked in correctional services as a dentist to some of Australia’s most notorious criminals. Her areas of research include using post-mortem computed tomography to develop usable cranio-facial superimposition techniques. She also has a Masters of Fine Arts in photography/installation in which she explored alternative concepts of death/science and transformation. She doesn’t like sensationalist crime books and TV shows, but does enjoy The Bridge, The Staircase, The Jinx, Helen Garner’s books and Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man.
Sandra Nicholson was an Assistant Commissioner of Victoria Police (2005–2010) and its highest-ranking woman when she left the force in 2010, after a career spanning 35 years. She is a national co-convenor of Sisters in Crime.
Bookings for this event are essential, so to avoid disappointment book your ticket now! Doors open for this event at 6pm with the panel discussion commencing at 6.30pm sharp.
Tickets: $15/$10 Sisters in Crime and Writers Victoria members/concession
Tickets not sold prior to the event will be available at the door for $12/$17
Bookings for this event are essential, so to avoid disappointment book your ticket now! Doors open for this event at 6pm with the panel discussion commencing at 6.30pm sharp.
Venue: Sir Zelman Cowen Centre
Victoria University City Queen Street Campus
Lecture Theatre G02
295 Queen Street, Melbourne
(enter from Little Lonsdale Street)
Sun Bookshop stall: Sisters in Crime members receive a 10% discount
Dinner: If you wish to join Sisters in Crime for dinner afterwards, please contact the Celtic Club (opposite the Centre at 320 Queen Street) on 9670 6472 and ask to be included in the 8pm booking for the Sisters in Crime Law Week event.
Additional information: Carmel Shute 0412 569 356; admin@sistersincrime.org.au